![]() ![]() Marathon, Delphi, Thermopylae, Olympia, places so rich in history, but they don’t hold a candle to the one I seek. This is the culmination of all my Greek travels so far. I’ll walk where he walked over three thousand years ago. This time, I’m on my way to visit the home of wily King Odysseus, hero of the Trojan War (Ulysses to the Romans). It was one of my best ever rides in Greece. That southern land, called The Mani, was lonely and desolate, treeless and mountainous, and so beautiful. It was there that Hercules entered the netherworld kingdom of Hades to capture the three-headed dog, Cerberus, guardian of the gates to Hell. My ride there last year took me through the domain of the Spartans and far to the south where the land ends at Cape Tenaro. I’ll be riding into Corinth in another half hour and cross over the ancient canal into the Peloponnese wherein lies mountainous Laconia to the south. View of Kefalonia Island from Ithaca Island I like to look beyond the natural beauty of these places and see the land as it once was, in its golden age, so steeped in its unrivalled mythology. Skiron, of course, got some of his own medicine and ended up in the belly of a giant sea turtle somewhere near where I ride. I’ve come here to travel back in time every spring since I retired.Īs I ride through the ancient coastal town of Megara, I look up into the mountains and imagine the place where legend says Theseus encountered the bandit Skiron, the murderer of innocent travellers. I love this beautiful country, its rich history, and the ruins and mysteries I seem to discover around every corner in the road. With the Mediterranean to my left and the mountains to my right, it feels good to be back in Greece. The old Athens highway to Corinth is a refreshing ride on this warm morning in May. Ken Gibson unlocks the secrets of Greece’s ancient past.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |